In 1496 she moved to Viterbo, Italy, and joined a group of Dominicantertiaries. Her visions continued, she began to fall into ecstasies during prayer, and received the signs of the stigmata. Word of her visions and actions got around, and curiosity seekers came to gawk at her. Her bishop investigated her himself, but did not come to any conclusion about the nature of her visions, and referred her to the Inquisition. They investigated, reached no decision, and referred her to the Vatican. The Pope, with the help of BlessedColumba of Rieti, decided that the mystical signs were of God, and asked Lucy to pray for him.

Lucy returned to Viterbo where the locals were excited to have her back. However, the count of Ferrara, Italy who had just built a convent of SaintCatherine of Siena in Narni, Italy, asked Lucy to serve as its prioress; she agreed, with the plan to make it a house of very strict observance. This triggered a two-year conflict between the two cities which actually led to armed conflict when the count sent troops to Viterbo in 1499 to escort her to the convent. There she ran into additional problems as many novices were unable to live under the strict rules; there was sometimes a circus atmosphere at the house as the count brought visitors to show off Lucy, and would demand that she show signs of stigmata. In 1505 the Dominicans replaced her as prioress, and the new superior had her confined; for her remaining 39 years she lived in silence, speaking only to her confessor, completely obedient, never complaining, utterly forgotten by the outside world, and spending all free time in prayer, frequently going into ecstasies and receiving visions.